Fun Facts:

• Today potatoes are grown in all 50 states of the USA and in about 125 countries throughout the world.
• The potato is about 80% water and 20% solids.
• The average American eats about 124 pounds of potatoes per year while Germans eat about twice as much
• In 1947, an Englishman named Eric Jenkins grew 370 pounds from one plant
• The world’s largest potato weighed in at 18 pounds, 4 ounces according to the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s enough for 73 portions of medium fries at Mcdonald’s.
• In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space colonies
• The world’s largest potato producing country is China
• The potato is considered as the fourth most important crop behind corn, wheat, and rice
• Potatoes are easy to grow, can survive without huge amounts of chemical additives, and are considered one of the most environment-friendly vegetables
• Potatoes assumed the role of a basic unit of measurement when the ancient Incas civilization used the time it takes to cook potato to measure time
• Potato might be a vegetable, but it beats orange in having more vitamin C, banana with more potassium, and apple with more fiber content

Resources:

Idaho Potato Museum

mobile cuisine

Facts. net